what if

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• Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Dates back at least to Old English hwæt ġif, of the same meaning. A similar expression occurs in Latin in the Vulgate, Acts 23:9, "Factus est autem clamor magnus. Et surgentes quidam pharisaeorum, pugnabant, decentes: Nihil mali inveniumus in homine isto: quid si Spiritus locutus est ei, aut angelus?" ("And there arose a great cry. And some of the Pharisees rising up, strove, saying: We find no evil in this man. What if a spirit hath spoken to him, or an angel?" Douay-Rheims translation)

48 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Chinese Cantonese: 不如 (bat1 jyu4) — used to introduce suggestion
• Chinese Mandarin: 不如 (bùrú) — used to introduce suggestion
• Classical Chinese: 何如 (hérú) — used to introduce suggestion
• Classical Chinese: 莫若 (mòruò) — used to introduce suggestion
• Classical Chinese: 莫如 (mòrú) — used to introduce suggestion
• Czech: co takhle — used to introduce suggestion
• Finnish: entä jos — used to introduce suggestion
• Finnish: mitä jos — used to introduce suggestion
• French: et si — used to introduce suggestion
• German: was wenn — used to introduce suggestion
• Greek: και αν (kai an) — used to introduce suggestion
• Norwegian: hva om — used to introduce suggestion
• Old English: hwæt ġif — used to introduce suggestion
• Old English: hū ġif — used to introduce suggestion
• Polish: a jeśli — used to introduce suggestion
• Portuguese: que tal — used to introduce suggestion
• Spanish: y si — used to introduce suggestion
• Spanish: qué tal si — used to introduce suggestion
• Swedish: tänk om — used to introduce suggestion
• Turkish: peki ya — used to introduce suggestion
• Chinese Cantonese: 萬一 /万一 (maan6 jat1) — used to introduce speculation about future
• Chinese Mandarin: 萬一 /万一 (wànyī) — used to introduce speculation about future
• Min Nan Chinese: 萬不二 /万不二 (bān-put-jī/bān-put-lī) — used to introduce speculation about future
• Czech: co kdyby — used to introduce speculation about future
• Finnish: entä jos — used to introduce speculation about future
• Finnish: mitä jos — used to introduce speculation about future
• French: et si — used to introduce speculation about future
• Greek: και αν (kai an) — used to introduce speculation about future
• Hungarian: mi lenne, ha — used to introduce speculation about future
• Norwegian: hva om — used to introduce speculation about future
• Old English: hwæt ġif — used to introduce speculation about future
• Old English: hū ġif — used to introduce speculation about future
• Portuguese: e se — used to introduce speculation about future
• Spanish: y si — used to introduce speculation about future
• Spanish: qué pasaría si — used to introduce speculation about future
• Swedish: tänk om — used to introduce speculation about future
• Chinese Cantonese: 萬一 /万一 (maan6 jat1) — used to introduce speculation about past
• Chinese Mandarin: 萬一 /万一 (wànyī) — used to introduce speculation about past
• Min Nan Chinese: 萬不二 /万不二 (bān-put-jī/bān-put-lī) — used to introduce speculation about past
• Czech: co když — used to introduce speculation about past
• Czech: co kdyby — used to introduce speculation about past
• Finnish: entä jos — used to introduce speculation about past
• Finnish: mitä jos — used to introduce speculation about past
• French: et si — used to introduce speculation about past
• Greek: και αν (kai an) — used to introduce speculation about past
• Old English: hwæt ġif — used to introduce speculation about past
• Old English: hū ġif — used to introduce speculation about past
• Swedish: tänk om — used to introduce speculation about past